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The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition Collector's Gift Set)

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The extended DVD of "Return of the King" is filled with many new and extended scenes that will please fans who love Tolkien's original story. The July 26, 2004 San Diego Comic Convention featured a preview of many scenes, some introduced by Peter Jackson himself. (Some of these scenes were recently featured in the sneak preview trailer at Lord of the Rings.net, although now it seems to have been removed). In reference to a couple of reviews on the board here -- if you're waiting anxiously for the Scouring of the Shire, don't hold your breath. That segment was NEVER filmed by Jackson, therefore it will NOT be included in the extended edition DVD. But there ARE plenty of great scenes to be included:

· We hear Christopher Lee's booming voice echoed over a dark screen that lightened to reveal Saruman on top of Orthanc. He warns our heroes of something festering in the heart of Middle-earth and that they will all die.

· We see Frodo and Sam in their Orc disguises joining the column of Orcs as they march out of Mordor.
· There are numerous shots of the Houses of Healing with Faramir, Eowyn, and Merry all seen.
· A lot more looks to be added to the siege of Minas Tirith, as there was a bunch of new battle footage.
· Frodo and Sam venture into the Crossroads and a few clips from that section were included.
· The Mouth of Sauron is featured pretty heavily. If you've played EA's Return of the King video game you'll recognize the scene. The Mouth of Sauron rides out of the Black Gate and presents Frodo's mithril coat to the Fellowship.
· Aragorn reveals himself to Sauron by approaching the Palantir in Minas Tirith and wields Anduril to show that the Heir of Elendil was alive.
· We get to see more of Saruman later in the preview when he knocks Wormtongue down and also fires a giant fireball from his staff that engulfs Gandalf on Shadowfax.
· There's more of Frodo and Sam in Mordor after they join the column of Orcs and before they discard their disguises. In one scene, Sam looks to the dark sky of Mordor and tells Frodo that he can see light as one little star can be seen glimmering through the clouds.
· And yes, we will finally get to see Gandalf facing down the Witch King. It happens exactly as we've seen, but when Gandalf holds up his staff the Witch King pulls out his sword and holds it to the sky where it spouts flames. As he brings it down, the air around the burning sword is distorted.

That was just the preview. New Line treated fans to three full clips, with the third introduced by Peter Jackson himself:

· There was a nice scene of Pippin and Faramir in Gondor where Faramir explains to the Hobbit how the small Gondorian armor he was wearing belonged to a young son of the Steward when he was a kid. Faramir further explains how Boromir was always the soldier and he wasn't.
· A scene that takes place about five days after they were healed by Aragorn features Faramir and Eowyn on a balcony at the Houses of Healing where Eowyn falls for Faramir.
· The Paths of the Dead is extended from where it ends in the theatrical cut. After Aragorn poses his offer, the dead laugh and go back into the walls. A massive earthquake starts, and the Three Hunters must escape an avalanche of millions of skulls.

· Described, but not shown, another scene expanded in this edition is the scene where Pippin finds Merry on the battlefield. Now, Pippin searches the field for an entire day after everyone else has gone back into the city. He finally locates Merry at night in the new version of the scene.

Just a few weeks to go till the "Return of the King" extended edition hits the stores!

Peter Jackson proved me wrong when I said, like many people, that Lord of the Rings would be a bust: Spielberg-adventure at best, Lucas-disaster at worst. Had I known Tolkien's classic was in the hands of the guy who directed Heavenly Creatures, I would have been more optimistic. As it turns out, my expectations were completely overturned. In some ways the films are actually better than the books, especially in terms of emotional power. Competent actors, amazing cinematography, and a brilliant music score combine to offer us Middle-Earth as we'd never imagined it.

Fellowship of the Ring is the most polished film, with its elegant episodic pacing. We start in the idyllic world of the hobbits and flee with Ringwraiths hot on our heels; we rest in Elrond's sanctuary and plunge into Moria; we come out grieving and console ourselves in Galadriel's safe (yet unsettling) dream-wood, and then wind up surrounded by Uruk-hai. This is a quintessential fantasy road-journey containing three episodes within an episode, each beginning in a haven and followed by a dark journey. The pacing is flawless, and the plot unfolds to a perfect beat.

Two Towers is the ambiguous film. It's excellent (or at least the extended version is) but structured in a way that the hobbits become sidelined by the Rohan story. As they are the soul of Tolkien's epic, we feel slightly nonplussed at their consignment to B-storylines. Ironically, the film is a showcase for cgi characters Gollum and Treebeard, who manage to steal the show from within these storylines.

Return of the King is the most dramatic film, tragic on almost a biblical level, and certainly the most satisfying. I can understand why Elijah Wood calls it "better than one and two combined". It centers on the hopeless mission to Mount Doom, which, as every fan knows, is the heart of the story. Around this we're bombarded by apocalyptic chaos and destruction on the Pelennor Fields, followed by Aragorn's hopeless march on the Black Gate. We finish at the Grey Havens, the best ending in literary and cinematic history, which encapsulates all of Tolkien's themes: courage, friendship, suffering, and passing on. It just doesn't get better than this.

Peter Jackson deserves more accolades than I'm capable of heaping to the point of overkill. Minor quibbles aside, the extended versions of these films are masterpieces to be treasured as much as the books. Tolkien's classic may be pure, but the movie's cinematography takes us where even the written word cannot go. Tolkien's writing is irreplaceable, but Howard Shore's music taps deeper into Middle-Earth's soul. The text is sacred, but the scriptwriters changed it anyway so that it could actually work on screen. The entire project has been too good to be true, and I'm still in awe of it.

Like all Tolkien fans, I had once been afraid of this. I had been afraid that our beloved books would be taken by a talentless, indifferent hand and thrown into the horrendous money-making machine. I had been afraid they'd be ground mercilessly and without any consideration for J.R.R. Tolkien's work or for its fans, ground into pieces of overbudgeted FX with not much else left to the eye and to the mind.

What we got instead was nothing short of a masterpiece. Hype? Sure, there's been some hype. But The Lord Of The Rings has rendered the word hype obsolete. It takes that hype and smashes it against a wall of pure brilliance. The final installment is a glorious ending to a trilogy that decades down the road, I have no doubt, will be hailed as one of the greatest achievements in modern cinema. Had I written the review right after seeing it, it would've probably consisted of one word. WHOA. But I'm OK now. I'm fine. I've taken my Advil, drank my three cups of coffee, got good five hours of sleep. I'm OK now. I can finally sit down and write a coherent review.

On the other hand, do I dare? What can you say about a movie which is, for the lack of a better word, perfect? I know, I know. Of course, no movie is perfect. But this one is as damn well close to perfect as it gets. I've been literally put under a spell, very similar to the one that had seized my mind 18 years ago when I first read the books. Flaws and lowdowns? Sure, there are some, but only if you choose to be a grumpy purist who refuses to get it through his head that literature and cinema are two very different media and therefore cannot be the same, will never be the same. This is as great an adaptation as there will ever be. Call me when you make a movie one-tenth this good.

In my eyes, the films are in some ways better than the books. I find it extremely annoying that Tolkien's work is being idealized by his fans. He was but a man and he, too, made mistakes. His books, as detailed and amazing as they are, still aren't perfect. There are characters who do nothing but sit around, scenes the very presence of which is meaningless or at the very least questionable. Think Arwen, think Tom Bombadil... who, while making a part of the story cool and magical, bears next to no impact on the story as a whole (of course, "true Tolkien fans" will probably have my head if they read this, but oh well). But above all, it makes my blood boil when I hear things like "a true visualization of Tolkien's Middle-earth it is not" (sic. Rogert Ebert). With all due respect, who in the world do you think you are to decide what a "true visualization of Tolkien's world" is? No one but Tolkien himself can give us the true visualization of his world, and he's been dead for decades.

Peter Jackson & Co had a task in front of them akin to dragging a cross to the top of Golgotha, in metaphorical terms. And, by all that's sacred, I cannot see how a filmmaker could succeed more in such a task. It is no small feat to accomplish what they have accomplished. Not only have they succeeded, they have exceeded all my expectations. You can see and feel with every shot that this is a labor of love. That goes for everything and everyone in the movie. Cinematographically, it's amazing. The FX were just enough and never cheesy or unnecessary. The score moves you deeply - even the normally annoying Enya did not bother me this time. The acting was splendid, and the cast was simply perfect. I grew up with the characters in my heart, and now they finally have faces. I mean, how many times do you actually read a book, imagine the characters, and then see the movie and realize that the characters look eerily close to what you've imagined them to look like?

I could go further into details about this particular installment, but I don't think Amazon supports reviews that long. I will simply say that I have never been one of those never-happy purists who nitpick even on the quantity of leaves on trees in Rivendell. I believe these movies should be seen for what they are, not for what they are not. Don't sit there and compare it to the book, or complain how something was added or taken away. Know this: if you want to see Tolkien's Middle Earth, you never will. Only Tolkien himself could give you his Middle Earth, and he's long gone. Look at these films from an overall point of view and try to see that it is simply impossible to film such a leviathan in a way that will make everyone happy. And for what it is, this trilogy is a rare gem. It combines end-of-your-seat action with heartbreaking drama, and brings intensity on both visual and emotional levels, which few films have accomplished so far. For me personally, it was also a memorable experience because I got to share it with a hundreds of moviegoers who sat in the theater with me for three years in a row. We watched in silence, lest we miss anything. We wowed at the sight of the dark, vast Moria, the surreal beauty of Rivendell, the fiery grandeur of Mt. Doom. We laughed at the hobbits' painfully sweet naiveté. We clapped at the grand finale. We couldn't hold back tears in the last few minutes before the credits rolled. We were there, with them, sharing this timeless tale of friendship, destiny, love, the loss of innocence and the reign of good vs. evil. Sounds trite, I know. But this is probably one story where it's not.

Your mileage may vary.

This past week, I had the rare privilege of watching the Lord of the Rings with someone who had never seen it. He is a friend of my youngest brother (17 years old, in High School), and I figured that if he was watching these films for the first time, he might as well watch the extended editions.

He saw Fellowship 2 weekends ago and loved it. Then he saw the Two Towers last Saturday, and was very eager to see the final chapter. Incidentally, the last extended edition was out this past Tuesday, and yesterday, my brother, this friend and I sat for the Return of the King and watched it from beginning to end, integrated scenes and all.

To be able to see the expressions of shock, wonder, suprise, and conviction as someone watches the Lord of the Rings movies for the first time; the feelings of cinematic release that I myself went through when I was introduced to these films, is quite hard to put in words. Let's just say another fan has been added to the list.

Just as magical was being able to suprise and shock my younger brother and his friends even more with the enriched history and sheer emotion of the books; describing the last chapter in the "Two Towers", and how intense 'The Choices of Master Samwise' is as you read it, and how you do not want to stop reading the rest of the story until the very cracks of Mount Doom have come and gone; seeing their eyes widen and their curiousity abound as I explain the history behind some of the amazing detail that has been included in these films, like Shelob's mother (Ungolianth), or Erendil's light; the saga of the Valar and the Silmarillon, and Morgorth and his many Balrogs.

The best part of this experience in Middle Earth is more personal. Last night my younger brother and his friend asked why, once the climax had passed, there was a need to show so much of the aftermath. I realised then that while it took courage for Frodo and the fellowship to fight their battles and face their fears, especially with almost no hope; once the worst arrived, and the sacrifices were made, a new courage was needed, to face life after 'The End of All things', and to continue to live it. I told them about the casualties of war, and how so many soldiers who have served and suffered, return home, only to find their lives can no longer be the same. Many do not know how to go on living a normal life after experiencing the horror and pain that comes from war. It takes courage to keep on living, to find happiness that brings peace.

For me, this movie shows what courage is like - it shows the many forms of courage. Not 6 months ago, my other, older brother (27 years old, graphic designer) died very suddenly, and tragically. One moment very close, the next, ripped out of my life; once living and breathing, funny and God fearing, my mentor - my friend; now, only memories - many, many good, some sad, all, usually painful. It takes courage to persevere past the pain of losing a loved one, and struggling, fighting to find meaning, happiness, and faith in life - happiness that will bring peace.

These movies are much more than entertainment or great cinema, they are instruments of hope, spanning the spectrum of life's deepest sorrows, and most meaningful truths. They are a treasure, truly, truly dear and precious to me.

For that, I am thankful.

For those of you who purchased the extended editions individually, you can still buy the box for all three movies. There's a card inside the individual editions of Return of the King to order a box ONLY for the trilogy. I know a lot of people who were planning on selling the first two movies and buying the Trilogy set. Fortunately there is no need. Outstanding added scenes as well as great bonus features!

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and on December 14, the last milestone in a four-year-long (or decade-long, depending on who you ask) odyssey will be passed. The release of the extended edition of ROTK is arguably the most anticipated DVD event of the whole year, and with good reason. I'm assuming that everyone who is interested this early has read about the extra goodies we can expect from Jackson and Co. Things like the Mouth of Sauron, the orc-march with Sam and Frodo, and (my personal favorite) the blossoming relationship between Eowyn and Faramir, not to mention a whole host of others. I guess the Extended Editions prove the exception to the rule that less is more. 50 extra minutes is a long time, even compared with the original hefty running time of 3 1/2 hours. I'm heartily anticipating the numbing my rear is going to receive.

When you think about it, The Lord of the Rings should never have happened. At least, not in this day and age. We're talking about an unknown director, with no previous experience in epic filmaking, a special effects workhouse in *New Zealand*, of all places, and a smallish production company that really couldn't afford to make a gamble of this magnitude and expect to recover if they lost. Still, Jackson certainly made sure they got their money's worth, even before the movies became hits. He made three movies, each over 3 hours long, with copious special effects and a huge cast, for $300 million. Titanic, a single movie, while admittedly a very ambitious one, had a price tag of about $400 million. I have no idea how Jackson did it, and I don't need to know. Even if he never makes another movie as good as LOTR (God forbid!), he will go down in filmaking history as the man who was able to translate an untranslateable classic to the big screen, and still do it justice. How many "serious" directors can claim that feat, even with less ambitious books?

Now, for those who claim LOTR is a lesson for our time, you may very well be right. Then again, you might not. Either way, it really doesn't matter. We all see what we want to see, but I think I'll trust the author's view in this case. Tolkien was famously contemptuous of allegory, and the least we can do for him is to honor his request that the books (and the movies) be read and seen for themselves, without bringing our own prejudices and justifications into it, at least not on purpose.

So, here's to the final leg of the journey. The most awe-inspiring visual representation that will ever be seen of one of the world's greatest books will be complete in just over two months. Mark your calenders, folks! I myself plan to be first in line at the video store that day...

Peter Jackson's epic adaptation of "Lord of the Rings" reaches its pinnacle in "Return of the King." The stellar cast, mind-blowing special effects and heartbreaking script are all present in the third movie, which is not only the last of the "Lord of the Rings" films, but the best.

Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) are still following the treacherous Gollum (Andy Serkis) on the path to Mordor, with the increasingly strained Frodo unaware that Gollum is sowing suspicion between the two best friends. By the time he realizes his mistake, he's been dragged into the lair of Shelob, a monstrous spider, and then abducted by orcs who want the Ring he carries. Determined to find his friend, Sam heads into an orc citadel...

Meanwhile, Gandalf (Ian McKellen) takes Pippin (Billy Boyd) with him to Minas Tirith, after the hobbit has a close encounter with Sauron through a palantir. \Not only is the city under siege, but the Steward Denethor is slowly going insane, even sending his one remaining son, Faramir (David Wenham), on a suicide mission to reclaim a dead city. With Minas Tirith crumbling, Aragorn's (Viggo Mortensen) only hope may to be summon an army of the dead, who will only obey the King of Gondor. But even the dead won't help him if Frodo doesn't destroy the Ring...

The "Lord of the Rings" trilogy is one of those once-in-a-lifetime movie experiences. There has never been anything quite like it in movie history, and there probably never will be again. It seems somehow fitting that the book that every other fantasy has to measure up to, has now become a sweeping cinematic triumph that actually stays halfway loyal to the books. Good things come to fans who wait, I guess.

Peter Jackson really outdoes himself. You know those battle scenes in "Two Towers" and "Fellowship of the Ring," with the swooping camera and thousands of orcs, clashing with men on a gloomy battlefield? In "Return of the King," Jackson surpasses that. There's everything from volcanic eruptions to an invasion of howling ghosts to the attack of the oliphaunts (like elephants, only bigger). Each action scene a shattering ride, and there's no guarantee that all the beloved characters will make it out alive. Some of them don't.

But if Jackson manages the epic battles well, he does an even better job with the gentler, quieter moments. The action slows down, and the characters take a moment to support and comfort each other. They cry, they hug, they think about home -- such as Gandalf comforting the frightened Pippin with a description of the afterlife. Jackson and his fellow screenwriters Fran Walsh and Phillippa Boyens throw themselves into the semi-formal language of Tolkien's world, resculpting Tolkien's words into equally rich movie dialogue.

Elijah Wood gives an unparalleled performance as Frodo Baggins. Frodo's gradual deterioration is wrenching to watch, and the climactic scene at Mount Doom displays just what the Ring can do to even the pure-hearted hobbit. Sean Astin follows up with his powerful performance as Sam, who is increasingly the "strong" hobbit, rather than the follower. The final scenes between these two outstanding actors are beautiful and understated.

But all the supporting cast also give powerful performances -- Boyd and Dominic Monaghan put their characters through some intense growing pains, and the "I'm going to take care of you" scene is enough to bring tears to your eyes. Mortensen gets more kingly every moment, while Ian McKellen balances action with grandfatherly wisdom. Bernard Hill has a quietly moving final scene, while Miranda Otto makes the despairing Eowyn a strong, kick-butt heroine.

Perhaps the most striking thing about "Return of the King" is the final fourth of the film. While the "multiple endings" may annoy some viewers, it seems somehow right to gently let go of these characters rather than have a sudden, splashy finale. And whether they have a happy or sad ending, Jackson never lets us forget that they all made sacrifices to battle Sauron.

"Return of the King" brings the epic "Lord of the Rings" trilogy to a close, and cements Jackson's reputation as a master filmmaker. With the outstanding cast, beautiful scripting and amazing direction, this is the best of the "Lord" films -- and that's saying something.

I have to disagree with another viewer who claimed the series doesn't capture the spirit. I think that term is tossed around lightly by people who have no clue what it means.

I have heard several people make this claim and then give specific examples of how the movie doesn't follow the exact events or some of the main characters do things differently or have been moved. You can definately see some interpretation of the story That's plot not "spirit".

Things were definitely changed throughout the series, characters left out, some fleshed out more, events moved to other "books" or changed, dialogue put in the mouths of other characters. Watch some of the excellent commentaries included in the extended version DVD's and you will even get to hear some of the reasons behind these choices.

This is simply the best DVD series ever made for a book translated into film. You don't have to agree with the choices Peter Jackson and his writers made, but you do at least get to hear about those choices from them in their commentaries. Nearly an hour of extra footage is included in this beast of a movie- complete with integrated musical score. This was a labor of love, no one can refute that.

The Spirit of the story is completely intact. The messages are conveyed. Middle Earth has been brought alive. And Characters have been explored.

To ninjasuperstar who said: "I teach multicultural film at the university level, so I do know what I am talking about" - with all due respect perhaps this is why you "teach" while others "do". Although I recognize your right to your opinion, your criticisms of this film echo the criticisms that Tolkien absorbed from the literary guardians of academe in his own time. Witness his professed disdain for the false intellectualism of allegory. He recognized the most important thing about creative writing: to entertain. The same holds for Peter Jackson's achievement in this film. Few authors in modern history held their audience with such rapt attention and provided them with such joy, as did Tolkien, and again, Jackson has enjoyed accomplishment at a similar level with his film. While it is easy for all of us to find niggles we might have done differently, it's hard to imagine anyone having tackled a project of this impossible enormity with any closer proximity to perfection. The achievment nearly defies comprehension. Sorry to gush, but I've seen a lot of movies over lo these many decades, and I studied film in college too, so "I know what I'm talking about." In terms of adaptation, casting, special effects, and most importantly a very clear and profound respect for the author and the audience... this film is nothing less than a grand slam and will set the high bar for quality entertainment for many years to come.

This really is the DVD to "Rule Them All".
While it is true that these movies are not completely accurate to J.R.R. Tolkien's mighty work, I do believe that Peter Jackson did a wonderful and superb job coverting this epic tale to the completely different fantasy arena of Films. The imagination of the mind is completely different from the reality of sight, and so, though the movies are different, they are amazing!

I love how they incorporated so much of the Tolkien's wonderful books into this masterpiece of film, all the flavor, the languages, as much as they could cram in, and how wonderfully it all turned out. I have watched these movies progress from start to finish. These Special Extended Editions are the complete results of their efforts. The Return of the King is the Triumphant Finish. How wonderful it has all been, and how sad that it has come at last to the "End of All Things".
The Extended Editions bring the movies to their fulness, as they always should have been. I applaud!!!
It has been a long, hard wait for this movie, but I am sure that it will be worth it all.

There are, admittedly, differences that I did not like, but I am not going to let those worry me.

I would also recommend all to read the books. Wonderful as the movies are, they cannot even compare to Tolkien.

In closing, They are the best movies I have ever seen.

Perfect? No, but absloutely the best They can be for movies.